The lights went out during ‘Perfect Storm’

Capt. Fred Davis

Published 3:15 pm, Friday, April 22, 2016

Best made plans don’t always turn out as one hopes. For over a week, the weather channel had advertised a coming event they would broadcast, the movie “The Perfect Storm.” The film, released in 2000, was based upon a true story of a swordfishing boat, the Andrea Gail, and her crew who were lost during a storm in 1991 off Gloucester, Massachusetts.

My wife and I had viewed the movie before but looked forward to seeing it again. If you’ve ever seen the movie, you know what a thriller it is. The heart of the story involves three encounters by vessels and aircraft with the storm and their outcomes. The first time I saw the film, I sat on the edge of my chair enthralled by the events taking place on the screen. My background of fighting angry seas on Lake Huron caused me to have a greater interest and understanding.

As we watched The Weather Channel waiting for the movie to begin, it was kind of eerie that a warning came on that a storm was predicted for our area. After the movie began, the ship’s radar and electronics were flashing storm warnings and our local broadcasting station was running warnings of our impending wind storm across the bottom of the screen. The weather on the TV screen was wild and furious and the winds outside were beginning to howl. It was as if the movie was coming right into our living room. The movie reached the part where the mammoth wave was approaching. Just as the captain (George Clooney) of the fishing vessel was battling to keep his vessel afloat in the enormous seas and wild winds, the TV screen went dark — and so did everything else.

We knew we had lost our power as the wind roared through Port Austin blowing transformers and sirens began to wail. How strange, we were transferred from watching a shocking event take place to being in one in our home on devils night. We did not know how many homes were out but we learned the motel next door was also out, so they were unable to provide a place of refuge.

We called our power company at 9:30 p.m. Friday night and they called back to verify and say the problem would be fixed within a few hours. I also called my local electrician, who was kind enough to drop by and assure me there were no downed wires or hazardous conditions. Reassured we would be quickly taken care of, I threw an extra blanket on the bed and we turned in.

When we got up Halloween morning — brrr, it was very cold in my house and there was no electricity. When I called I learned a crew had been dispatched to my area at 7 a.m. and service should be restored by 2 p.m. Next time I called at about 2:30 p.m. (teeth chattering) I was told my power had been turned on and all I had to do was flip the main. I assured the person I had done that and there was no power.

At this point she told me she would report it once again (which I was afraid meant I went to the end of the line).

We were pretty sure we would be facing another night without lights and were concerned because our house was a popular spot for the kids to stop for trick or treating. Luckily we were able to borrow a lantern to place outside by the door so they knew we had treats. We were disappointed though because fewer youngsters visited us.

After the trick or treat hours ended, we went across the street to our friend’s restaurant for dinner, and when they learned we were powerless they got out a large, heavy duty power line and ran it over to our house. We were able to have a light and TV to watch the World Series game and have a bit of heat from an electric heater they also provided. Sure is great to have such nice friends. As we sat huddled around our little heater I looked over at the wife with her scarf, ear muffs and mittens on and I chuckled.

Another call to the power company resulted in a supervisor asking if we “lived in the woods” and a statement telling us we should probably “make other arrangements” because they were digging underground looking for the problem. I guess they were working somewhere else because we have no underground service in our area. I also got another suggestion to check the circuit box because they thought service was restored. I actually did have my electrician friend stop back over because by this time I doubted myself if I knew what was in the box. He probably thought I was losing it.

We found more blankets — and for safety, turned the electric heater off. As we crawled into bed, it was really cold. The next morning we were still powerless and totally puzzled as to why, so we called again and insisted someone explain it to us. We learned it was a paperwork error and the crews thought we had received service. We were told they would arrive about noon — and sure enough they did. What a welcome sight those big, ugly trucks were as they pulled up. Turns out we had blown transformer fuses. Simple fix, they were gone in no time.

As I see it, I can’t understand how a major utility can justify having such poor service during times of emergency. Somehow there was a missing link and lack of communication within the company. I know my information relayed was correct — each of the several times I provided it.

Capt. Fred Davis is a retired charter captain and nationally published author of boating articles. His “As I See It” appears Fridays in the Tribune and Boat Smart articles are published in each edition of the Thumb Resorter plus on line at www.captainfredsboattips.com.